Timer control means



March 25, 1941. M, IRELAND 2,236,406

TIMER CONTROL MEANS l Filed March 28, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 25, 1941. M* IRELAND 2,235,496

TIMER CONTROL MEANS Filed March 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Murr-ay jrjezlomxl.

20S ISI March 25, 1941. M IRELAND 2,236,406

TIMER CONTROL MEANS Filed March 28, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2) Fgr |0g |05 Invenlor: ufr-a5 Ireland Patented Mar. 25, 1941 PATENT OFFICE TIMER CONTROL MEANS Murray Ireland, near Elgin, Ill., assignor to McGraw Electric Company, Elgin, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application March 28,

4 Claims.

My invention relates to automatic electric toasters and more particularly to control or adjusting means for a timer associated with a cooking, baking or toasting appliance to determine the duration of a cooking operation.

An object of my invention is to provide timer speed-adjusting means comprising a plurality of push buttom actuated lever arms.

Another object of my invention is to provide a plurality of lever arms each movable through a like distance to cause different degrees of movement of a speed-changing member associated with a mechanical timer.

Other objects oi my invention will either be apparent from the description of a device embcdying my invention or will be more particularly pointed out in the course of such description and set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional View through a toaster 'embodying my invention taken approximately on the lineI-l of Fig. 4 showing all parts in non-toasting position.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l, all parts being shown in non-toasting position.

Fig. 3 shows enlarged detail views of a plurality of pinions in their non-operative positions,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. l,

Fig. 6 is a view on a somewhat enlarged scale of the timer showing in detail and section some of the parts,

Fig. 7 is a view on a slightly enlarged scale of the timer showing its cooperating relation with the bimetal bar within the toaster taken approximately on the line 'l-l of Fig. 4,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 9 showing details of construction of some of the parts which operate the timer rack, and,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on y 1940, Serial No. 326,357

a toaster. The use of a thermal element for causing a change in the speed of operation of the mechanical timer of the above described type is also well known from Patent No. 2,138,674 issued November 29, 1938, to M. H. Graham, both this patent and the Ireland patent being assigned to the same assignee as is the present application.

The above mentioned Ireland patent discloses the use of a manuallyoperable timer adjusting knob on the outside of a toaster casing whereby any desired speed of operation of the mechanical timer may be obtained and, as noted above, the Graham patent discloses the use of a bimetallic bar subject to the temperature of the toasting chamber for varying the speed of operation of the timerto cause it to run faster upon increase of temperature of the toasting chamber and of the toaster structure.

The present invention discloses more particularly a plurality of manually operable buttons or keys mounted on lever arms, each lever arm being connected through lost motion means with the spring-driven mechanical timer so that aetuation of one of these buttons by the user of a toaster will determine the initial speed of operation as it may exist independent of temperature changes in the toaster itself. yAs will be pointed out' hereinafter, the manual speedchanging mechanism 'associated with the springdriven mechanical timer is biased to one extreme of its mechanical movement and, as will be shown in the drawings and described in the following specication, I have elected to show the timer mechanism normally biased to its slowest speed of operation as shown in Fig. 6, the plurality of manually actuable buttons causing selective increase in the speed of operation and therefore shorter periods of time for a toasting operation.

Referring rst of all to the general structure of the toaster assembly, I have illustrated a toaster designated generally by the numeral 2| which includes a skeleton base frame 23 of moulded composition material having secured thereto adjacent its upper surface a metallic base plate 25 and having secured thereto adjacent its bottom edge a removable crumb tray 2l which may be held in proper operative place against frame 23 by a plurality of short studs 29 having nuts 3| thereon at their respective 50 lower ends to hold the crumb tray 2l in desiredv operative position.

I provide a rear intermediate wall 33 and a front intermediate wall 35 which may be made of thin sheet metal and have their lower edges 55 sourod against tno bottom .plato zu in any suitable or desired manner. A top trame plate 39 extends horizontally and longitudinally of the toaster structure and since I have elected to show a two-slice toaster, there will be two such top frame plates which intert with the upper edges of intermediate walls 33 and 35 to hold them in properly spaced positions relatively to each other.

I provide furthertwo pairs of spaced-apart vertically Vextending planar heating elements 4| each comprising one or more sheets I3 of electric insulating material such as mica having wound thereon, in a manner now well known in the art. a resistor strip 45. There will be, therefore. two radiant heating elements for each slice of bread to be toasted simultaneously in. a toaster of this kind, all as more clearly set forth in my earlier Patent No. 2,001,362. If desired, I may provide outer baiile plates 41 made of -aluminum to help to retain the heat generated by the 'plurality of heating elements within the toasting chambers of which there-may be two in a twoslice toaster.

I provide further an outer casing 89 which may include front, rear and two side walls and which may be open at the top and at the bottom a cover 5| being provided to intert therewith toprovide a substantially enclosingl outer casing for the toasting chamber and other mechanism to be hereinafter described comprising a part of the entire assembly. A twin conductor cord 573 two vertical heating elements oi. a pair of such elements, each bread carrier being provided with a rearwardly extending portion projecting 'through a slot in the rear intermediate wall 33 'l and having a portion extending forwardly of the front intermediate wall 35 through a vertical slt therein,v all in a manner well known in the a Means for effecting reciprocal vertical movement of the bread'carriers in the toasting chamber relatively to the heating elements may include a plurality of vertical standards Bi, the lower ends of which may iit into and be supported bythe bottom plate 25 while the upper ends thereof maybe properly supported and held in spaced position by forwardly extending portions 63 of the top frame plates and by a cross bar 65, all in 'a manner now well known in the art.

A pair of sliders 61 and 69 are mounted respectivelyv on the left-hand outer standard 6| andon the right-hand outer standard 6| and these sliders may have rearwardly extending portions 1| to which the front end projections of carriers 59 may be' secured by means of a cross pin 12, so that the two sliders 61 and 69 and the carriers 59 will move as a unit simultaneously `vertically on the outer standards 6|, the car- -riers moving therewith. A coil spring 13 may have one end connected to a projection 63 of the left-hand top frame plate and have its other end connected to a lug 15 secured." to the slider 61 near its lower end, suitable provision being made for mounting the bracket 15 on the slider. A carriage plate 11 is provided with an upper pair of rollers 19 and a lower pair of rollers 8|. which rollers are adapted to engage and move on the intermediate'standard 6| as will be clearly apparent i'rom Fig. 2 or the drawings.. The

carriage plate 11 has movement on its central standard 6| relatively to the pair oi' sliders 61 and 59 but when moved downwardly by knob 83.

which is mounted on a forwardly extending bar A' 95 constituting a part of an auxiliary bracket 81v secured to the carriage plate 11, projections 80x-rear the left and right-hand lower edges of carriage 11 will engage projections 8| on sliders 61 and 69 so that the sliders will move down with the carriage plate and the knob.

A spring-actuated mechanical timer 93 of the kind disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 1,866,808 constitutes a means for determining the duration of a toasting operation and may be held in proper operative position at the righthand edge of the front intermediate plate 35 and in front thereof in what may be called a mechanism chamber 95, by a top bracket 91. A timer spring 99 is mounted on an arbor |0| extending through the timer structure and having a pinion |03 secured iixedly thereon which pinion meshes with a, vertically movable rack bar |05. This rack bar is held in meshing engagement with pinion |03 by agrooved roller |01. The rack bar is provided adjacent its lower end with a laterally projecting pin |09 which pin is adapted to t into a recess of substantially inverted V-shape, which recess is provided in a projection i I 3 constituting a part of or secured to a projecting portion H5 of carriage plate 11. Downward movement; of the carriage plate 11 and of the parts associated therewith as by pressure on the knob B3 v by an operator will cause downward movement of portion ||3 and of the rack bar whereby the timer is wound to a predetermined degree.

The timer is provided with a pivoted detent lever i1 secured against the inside surface of the timer structure as by a pin ||9 near its lower end, the lower end |22 of the lever being adapted to be engaged by a projection |2| on the righthand slider S9 so that when the sliders have Abeen moved downwardly to cause the carriers to move into toasting position, the sliders and the carriers will be held in their lowermost position for-a predetermined time until the urilwinding spring 99 has caused suicient upward movement' of the rack bar |05 so that a cam surface |23 on portion H3 will engage a lateral pin |25' mounted on detent lever ||1 adjacent its upper end to cause clockwise turning movement ofthe detent fever arm ||1 (as seen in Fig. 6) to cause releasing movement of lever arm ||1 and quick upward movement of the sliders and bread carriers to their upper non-toasting position under the inuence of spring 13.

Reference more particularly to Fig. 6 of the pivotally connected to a vertically movable member |31 which is spring-biased by a coiled spring |39 to its uppermost position which may be def nnen by guido pins m. A rank m constitutes a pant of member |31 and a pinion |45 meshes with -this rack bar which pinion is mounted on a shaft |41 which shaf-t may be supported by bearing brackets' |49 and |5| for limited turning movement. It may be here pointed out that when the rack bar |43y is in its uppermost position substantially as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the speed of operation of the -timer will relatively low and will increase with downward movement of speed-adjusting member |31, all

as set forth in my above mentioned Patent No.n

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, I have there illust-rated the details constituting more particularly my present inven-tion. I provide a plurality, in this case five, push buttons |53 each of which is mounted on an auxiliary speed-adjusting lever arm |55, the inner end. of which is pivotally mounted on a shaft |51 to permit of limited turning movevment by an operator when the operator presses downwardly on the push button. Since a toaster of this kind, when constructed for domestic use as on a breakfast table, is relatively light, it is highly desirable that substantially vertical downward pressure only be required to move the Ipush button downwardly so as to preclude horizontal movement of the toaster on the table.'

Each of the leven` arms |55 may be of bell crank form having a short arm |59 to the outer end of which is connected one end of a biasing spring |6|, the other end of which may be connected to a lug |63 secured to skeleton fra/me 23 or to any other fixed point. A stop means |55 which may take the form of a xed bar or rod, limits lthe counter-clockwise movement of the arms |55 jecting pins |19 fixed therein, this plurality of pins being axially alined on the shaft 41 as is shown more particularly in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

I provide further a plurality of segmental gear arms |8| of the general shape as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings,the segmental gear |83 thereof being adapted to mesh with the pinions |61 to |15 vinclusive for the respective members |8I. Member |8| may be provided with a. depending portion |85 which is pivotally connected to an arm |55 therebelow as by a pin |91 secured to portion |85, this pin fitting into an elongated slot |89 in arm |55. It may here be pointed out that while' I have elected to show an auxiliary arm |55, connected with a segmental gear member IBI, I am not limited thereto since a push button |53 may be xedly connected with portion |95 of arm |8| when applied to a different form of toaster.

The segmental gear members IUI are individually pivotally mounted on pins |9I which are A assembling the pinions |61 to |15 on the shaft |41 and meshing them individually with the respective segmental gear portions |93, they are so assembled that the lugs |11 on the respective pinions` will be normally spaced from the pins |19 by a different amount for each of the pinions I|61 to |15 inclusive. That is, the lug on pinion |51 will be spaced a relatively large angular distance from pin |19 while the lugs on the next successive pinions will be spaced a lesser distance to thereby provide different degrees of lost motion between the lugs |11 and therefore between the pinions |61 to |15 inclusive and the pins |19 cooperating with the lugs on the respective pinions; It may be noted that the distance between a lug |11 on pinion |61 and a.

pin |19 is normally such that actuation of the button corresponding t0 pinion |61 after some other button had been actuated, would result in movement of member |31 to its uppermost limiting position. This permits of having one of the timer control buttons operated to obtain the darkest degree of toasting at one operation and obtaining some lighter degree of toasting at a succeeding operat-ion by pressing another button, that is, the user. has only to press on a different button to obtain another degree of toasting when starting a new toasting operation.

As was hereinbefore set forth, the speed-changing member |31 is positioned to cause the timer to operate at its slowest manually controllable speed to cause the toaster to provide the darkest desired degree or color of toast. If, now, that push button |53 operatively associated with pinion |69 be moved downwardly a fixed distance, the pin |19 xed in vshaft 41 will be moved anguiar-ly through a relatively small distance only thereby causing small turning movement of pinion |45 and a small downward movement of rack bar |49 and of the speed-changing member |31 to thereby cause slightly higher speed of operation of the timer and therefore a degree of toasting which will not be darkest but which may, for example, be darker, will be obtained. It will be noted more particularly from Fig. 3 of the drawings that if push buttons operatively associated with respectively pinions |69, |1|, |13 and are individually moved downwardly a fixed distance, that the associated pins |19 will be caused .to move through successively larger degrees of turning movement and therefore cause greater downward movement of the speed-changing member |31. Thus it will be noted by reference to the lowermost pinion |15 in Fig. 3 that lug |11 is substantially in engagement with its cooperating pin |19 so that downward movement of its cooperating or associated push button |53 will cause the maximum degree of movement of the speed-changing member 31 to cause say a relatively light degree of toasting.

As I desire to provide and make use of a thermal control oi' my variable and adjustable speed timer, I provide a thermolexible bar |93 having one end thereofv supported by a bracket |95 in one of the toasting chambers, the other end of the bar |93 having mounted thereon a recessed bracket 91 adapted to engage a pin |99 which is xed in one arm of a bell crank lever pivotally, mounted on the timer, the outer end of the other arm Yengaging an apertured member 299 which fits into the forked end of member |33. It is thus obvious that movement of bimetal bar and of the bracket |91 thereon in a. right-hand direction as seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings, will cause downward movement of member 291 and therefore downward movement of pivot pin |3| with resultant downward movement of the oscillator |29 to thereby cause an increase in the speed of operation of the timer in accordance with increase of the temperature of the toaster structure or of the toasting chamber, to which the bar |93 is subjected. The same result was Aobtained with downward movements of the speed-adjusting member |31 since under those conditions member 203 was substantially ixed so that downward movement of member |31 caused downward movement of the oscillator |25 and therefore an increase, of the speed of operation ofthe timer. With a red position of member |31 it is obvious that downward movement of member 203 will act as hereinbefore described to increase the speed of the timer.

I provide also means for locking an actuated segmental gear member |8| in its actuated pesi-l tion and for this purpose I provide the rearwardly extending portion or arm thereof with a' short arcuate portion 205 shown more particularly in Fig. 9 of the drawings and I provide this biases the locking bar 209 in its downward positon substantially as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, where the `stop 'lug 2|2 engages the front intermediate wall 35, so-that the locking bar 209 will-be in its downward position, substantially as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

It is to be noted that lug |11 on pinion |51 is so located thereon that turning movement thereof by its cooperating segmental gear will cause release of the last-previously operated segmental gear and arm portion 205 from the locking bar 209 to permit member |31 to move to its normal vposition where the timer speed will be a minimum. This ensures that an operator need press down on one of the buttons |53 to first cause release of the adjustment last previously used and a new adjustment of the manually operable timer control means as set forthv hereinbefore.

It is, of course. necessary that an actuated segmental gear member IBI, held in its actuated position by locking bar 209 be released therefrom when another push button and segmental gear member |9| is actuated at the will of an operator to obtain a diilerent degree of toasting.

As shown by the broken lines in Fig. 9 of the drawings,.all of the other projections 205'are in a downward position and it is further evident that upward movement of another projection 205 caused by an operator pressing another button,

-' will cause the arcuate surface ofproiection 205 to engage and raise locking bar 209 against the pull of spring 2|1 with the'result that locking bar 209 is moved out 'of the recess 201 permitting the previously actuated segmental gear member to move back to its normal position under the influence of spring ISI, that is, to the position shown in the broken lines in Fig. 9 of the draw- Reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings will4 show a stop lug 2|9 adapted tobe engaged by the intei-mediate portion of lthe thermoilexible bar |93 when the same is heated and reference may here tom plate 25, a. contact bridging member 223 being resiliently supported from the left-hand slider 01 so that when the sliders are moved downwardly and held by engagement of portion |2| under detent lever arm ||1, the circuit through the toast heating elements will be closed and they will remain energized until the sliders are moved upwardly under the iniiuence of spring 13 as has hereinbefore been described.

It is therefore evident that my invention provides a Arelatively simple means for. obtaining substantially ixed degrees of toasting of slices of bread subjected to a toasting operation, it being only necessary for an operator to press s selected button which may have a legend thereon indicating the degree of toasting which will `be obtained when the button is pushed downwardly through a ilxed relatively small degree or distance. f

While I have illustrated a specific embodiment of de'vice embodying my invention I do not desire to be limited thereto and all obvious modiiica-l 'speed-changing member to one of its extreme settings, said control means comprising a rotatable shaft mechanically connected with the speedchanging member to change the position thereof, a plurality of lever arms, means individually. biasing the lever varms to an inoperative position, mechanical connecting means between the respective lever arms and the shaft, each connecting means including a lost motion, theA lost motions being diii'erent for the d iierent connecting means to' ensure similar amounts of movement of the lever arms eifecting different amounts of turning movement of the shaft and correspondingly diiferent amounts of movement of the speed-changing member and a single member for engaging any one of the actuated lever arms to hold it in actuated position, said Y single holding member being engaged by a later actuated other lever arm to cause release therefrom of the previously actuated lever arm and its ,return to normal inoperative position.

2 Contro1 means for a mechanical timer comprising a speed-changingvmember connected with the timer and eiective on movement to change the speed of operation of the timer and spring means normally yieldingly biasing the speedchanging member to one of its extreme positions, said control means including a movable member connected with said speed-changing member to move the latter, a plurality of manually selecvtively-actuable elements each movable through a like distance, spring means normally yieldlngly -biasing said manually actuable elements to inoperative position, lost-motion connections between the individual manuallyactuable elements and said movable member to cause dilerent amounts of movement of the movable member and of the speed-changing vmember by similar amounts of movement of the respective manually-actuable elements and a single member for engaging any one of the actuated elements to hold it in actuated position, said single holding member being engageable by a later actuated element to cause release of the holding member from the previously actuated element and the return of the same to normal inoperative position.

3. Control means for a mechanical timer comprising a speed-changing member connected with the timer and effective on movement to change the speed of operation of the timer, a rack bar on said'speed-changing member, a gear meshing with said rack bar, a shaft on which said gear is xed, ar plurality of spaced pins fixed in said shaft in longitudinal alnement thereon, a plurality of pinions loosely mounted on said shaft, a lateral lug on one face of each of the respective pinions adapted to engage a pin on the shaft, a plurality 'of pivotally mounted lever arms each having a gear segment thereon meshing With one of said loosely-mounted pinions, the peripheral distance between the lateral lug and the cooperating shaft pin being different for the respective lever arms to provide different degrees of lost motion between the respective lever arms and the shaft, means normally yieldingly biasing the lever arms to normal positions and means for locking a lever arm in actuated position.

4. Control means for a mechanical timer comprising a speed-changing member connected with the timer and eiective on movement to change the speed of ope on of the timer, a rack bar on said speed-c anging member, a gear meshing with said rack bar, a'shaft on which said gear is fixed, a plurality of spaced pins fixed in said shaft in longitudinal alinement thereon, a plurality of pinions loosely mounted on said shaft', a lateral lug on one face of each of the respective pinions adapted to engage a pin on the shaft, a plurality of pivotally mounted lever arms each having a gear segment thereon meshing with one of said loosely mounted pinions, the peripheral distance between the lateral lug and the cooperating shaft pin being different for the respective lever arms to provide diierent degrees of lost motion between the respective lever arms and the shaft, means normally yieldingly biasing the lever arms to normal positions and a single member for locking any one of said lever arms in actuated position and means on said lever arms for engaging said locking member to cause it to release a prior actuated lever arm when another lever arm is actuated.

MURRAY IRELAND. 

